Tag Archives: shipping

Many people enjoy the pastime of watching freighters sailing in various parts of the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway. All have a favorite spot to watch and photograph from, but most have a spot that they dream of visiting someday. For many, that spot is Port Huron with its Great Lakes Maritime Center, home to the international headquarters of boatnerd.com.

The Blue Water Bridge with the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse’s green flash in the distance.

Salties and Lakers, Tankers and ‘Footers’ pass by the watchers at the Maritime Center on a regular basis. Following is a random gathering of ships that have sailed past Port Huron in the last year. Most were photographed from the Maritime Center, but some were captured at the Blue Water Bridge or the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

A great place for ship watching!

The Blue Water Bridge with the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse’s green flash in the distance.

Roger LeLievre’s phenomenal book, Know Your Ships -2012 edition, is now available! This book is a must have for anyone with an interest in the ships and shipping on the Great Lakes.

It includes information on renamed ships, recently scrapped ships, and other changes that have occurred since the last issue. The pages are filled with information, spectacular photography, and more.

In the Port Huron area you can find a copy at The Great Lakes Maritime Center, the Thomas Edison Inn, the Lightship Huron, and the St Clair Pharmacy. Online, you can order your copy of Know Your Ships as well as other books, DVDs and apparel at http://www.knowyourships.com. Orders are taken by mail at: Know Your Ships, 317 S. Division St #8, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Call (906)632-8417.

There is a new kid on the Great Lakes by the name of the Algoma Mariner. She is a 740 foot maximum Seaway size, Coastal Class self unloading bulk carrier with the capacity to haul 37,162 tons, or the equivalent of 83,242,880 lbs. Built at the Nantong Mingde shipyard in China, it arrived home in Canada on August 3, 2011. The Algoma Mariner was supposed to be a conversion of the Algoma Central’s ship the Algoport, but the Algoport foundered at sea while being towed to China. It broke apart and sank, so the Algoma Mariner is a completely new vessel.

Port Huron is known as one of the best spots along the Great Lakes Shipping Channel for ship watching. There are several key sites along the Port Huron shoreline, but arguably one of the best ship viewing places is at Vantage Point. The friends at the Maritime Center provide narrative to accompany the passing of each ship. This narrative, provided by the great folks from boatnerd.com, gives technical information such as size, power source, and type of cargo. It also includes such trivia as date and place the ship was built; different names, owners, and jobs the ship has done in the past; and where it is heading currently. The river is not to wide in front of Vantage Point, so the ships are close enough to view, photograph, and enjoy. Vantage Point provides a cafe, ample seating indoor and out, and a friendly atmosphere in which to enjoy your ship watching experience.